On Rob Kardashian, Blac Chyna, & Revenge Porn On Social Media

Like you, my Wednesday began with Kardashian drama. Seeing Robert’s name trending on Twitter, I clicked on it with the zeal of Kim peaking out from the plants, ready to sit down and bask in what I hoped would be something on-par with the Snapchat epiphany of this time last year.

Which she should most definitely do. Revenge porn — the act of “intentionally distributing the image of the intimate body part or parts of another identifiable person” — is a criminal offence in California, and it should be. There are zero circumstances under which Rob was justifiable in sharing those images. And there’s no way his intentions or actions can be explained away: he used Chyna’s body against her as a way of elevating himself above her. He used her sexuality as a weapon and as a means of undermining her as a person. And then he used the “short skirt” defence to justify his posts: she cheated on him and betrayed his trust — so she “deserved” this.

The footnote was clear: if she didn’t want him to share these photos, she shouldn’t have “betrayed” him. Or maybe she shouldn’t have sent them at all.

But that ideology is bullshit. No one “deserves” to be the victim of a sex crime. No one “deserves” to have explicit images — meant for a specific audience — shared across social media platforms, as if the existence of said photos is a permission slip in itself. An image is an extension of a person. And if most professional photos need photo credit and permission from the subject to be published and shared, why would nudes get a green light?

They don’t.

Robert Kardashian, (whose own sister, Kim, was victimized by the release of a sex tape without her consent), engaged in a sex crime yesterday. He shared and distributed photos of Blac Chyna’s body, using her alleged actions and history to fuel his crusade against a woman who carried and gave birth to their child. Then, to make matters worse, he claimed he bankrolled her post-baby plastic surgery (as if cosmetic surgery is anything to be ashamed of) as another mark against her character. As if his claims were enough of a reason he could post a photo of her body on Instagram.

And if that’s the shit we’re seeing out front and centre, imagine the vitriol that’s gone down behind the scenes.

Because when a man acts out in this way, he is telling the world he is comfortable violating women. Robert Kardashian, knowing he was being watched to the point of being a trending topic, wasn’t embarrassed by his actions — he championed them, digging his hole deeper and deeper, and seeming quite proud as it happened. We’re heartbreakingly used to sexual offenders operating behind the scenes; we’re used to hearing of things after the fact, shocked that they’ve happened at all. But this was outright: Rob wanted us to know what he was capable of. He didn’t want there to be any misunderstanding as to what kind of man he is.

Which leads to more questions. If this is how he acts in the cold light of day, what else has he done? To Robert, women’s bodies seem to exist for both consumption and for exploitation. An irony, considering we only know who he is because the women in his life have been so generous.

Like you, my Wednesday began with Kardashian drama. Seeing Robert’s name trending on Twitter, I clicked on it with the zeal of Kim peaking out from the plants, ready to sit down and bask in what I hoped would be something on-par with the Snapchat epiphany of this time last year.

Which she should most definitely do. Revenge porn — the act of “intentionally distributing the image of the intimate body part or parts of another identifiable person” — is a criminal offence in California, and it should be. There are zero circumstances under which Rob was justifiable in sharing those images. And there’s no way his intentions or actions can be explained away: he used Chyna’s body against her as a way of elevating himself above her. He used her sexuality as a weapon and as a means of undermining her as a person. And then he used the “short skirt” defence to justify his posts: she cheated on him and betrayed his trust — so she “deserved” this.

The footnote was clear: if she didn’t want him to share these photos, she shouldn’t have “betrayed” him. Or maybe she shouldn’t have sent them at all.

But that ideology is bullshit. No one “deserves” to be the victim of a sex crime. No one “deserves” to have explicit images — meant for a specific audience — shared across social media platforms, as if the existence of said photos is a permission slip in itself. An image is an extension of a person. And if most professional photos need photo credit and permission from the subject to be published and shared, why would nudes get a green light?

They don’t.

Robert Kardashian, (whose own sister, Kim, was victimized by the release of a sex tape without her consent), engaged in a sex crime yesterday. He shared and distributed photos of Blac Chyna’s body, using her alleged actions and history to fuel his crusade against a woman who carried and gave birth to their child. Then, to make matters worse, he claimed he bankrolled her post-baby plastic surgery (as if cosmetic surgery is anything to be ashamed of) as another mark against her character. As if his claims were enough of a reason he could post a photo of her body on Instagram.

And if that’s the shit we’re seeing out front and centre, imagine the vitriol that’s gone down behind the scenes.

Because when a man acts out in this way, he is telling the world he is comfortable violating women. Robert Kardashian, knowing he was being watched to the point of being a trending topic, wasn’t embarrassed by his actions — he championed them, digging his hole deeper and deeper, and seeming quite proud as it happened. We’re heartbreakingly used to sexual offenders operating behind the scenes; we’re used to hearing of things after the fact, shocked that they’ve happened at all. But this was outright: Rob wanted us to know what he was capable of. He didn’t want there to be any misunderstanding as to what kind of man he is.

Which leads to more questions. If this is how he acts in the cold light of day, what else has he done? To Robert, women’s bodies seem to exist for both consumption and for exploitation. An irony, considering we only know who he is because the women in his life have been so generous.

Anne T. Donahue
Anne T. Donahueannetdonahue@gmail.comAuthorAnne T. Donahue is a writer and person who lives just outside of Toronto and knows way too much about the Great British Bake Off.29Secrets